Written by a lay student of the Bible. Articles focus on apologetics and key elements such as the Deity of Christ and salvation through faith in Christ alone. With many thanks to Drs Brown, White, Sade, Wood, Qureshi, Dalcour and Zacharias, and Bros Shamoun and Rogers for their excellent teaching and inspiration. All glory goes to God for any truth I am able to communicate. Any errors are mine. All Scripture text is from the HCSB (Holman Christian Standard Bible) unless otherwise stated

Do Muslims Pray As Jesus Commanded?

Muslims make many claims. Some claim that they pray just as Jesus did. Others claim that they are better followers of Jesus than Christians. But to follow Jesus means to follow His commands. Do Muslims pray as Jesus commanded? No, they do not.

Instead, they do the exact opposite.

Jesus commanded, "Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people." Matthew 6:5 Where do Muslims pray?

Jesus commanded, "... when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you." Matthew 6:6

But wait. There's more.

Jesus commanded,

7 "When you pray, don’t babble like the idolaters, since they imagine they’ll be heard for their many words.

8 Don’t be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask Him."

What do Muslims do when they pray? They pray memorized prayers 5 times a day, contrary to Jesus' command.

But wait. There is still more.

Jesus said,

9 “Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven..." Matthew 6

Where Jesus instructs us to pray to our Heavenly Father, Muhammad taught his followers that their Allah is not a father (Surah 5:18; 19:88-93; and 21:26) and they are not his children. Muslims are only Allah's slaves. Did Almighty God create you to be a slave... or His child? You can take a hint from what King David had to say about the One True God in Psalm 139:13 For it was You who created my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother’s womb.14 I will praise You because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, and I know this very well.15 My bones were not hidden from You when I was made in secret, when I was formed in the depths of the earth.16 Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began.